There was a lot of anticipation leading up to this past week's premiere of Triangle of Sadness at the Cannes Film Festival. The latest film from Ruben Östlund, the writer-director behind Force Majeure, which won the top prize in Un Certain Regard, and the Palme d'Or-winning The Square, was easily one of the buzziest titles at the French Riveria this year, and it shouldn't come as a surprise that the cutting satire is drawing a great deal of attention. Earlier today, it was revealed that Neon, an on-the-rise film distributor that prides itself on releasing bold, provocative, and unconventional indies to a wide audience, has acquired Triangle of Sadness following its world premiere. It's unclear at the moment when they're planning to release it, but the comedy could be released as early as this fall, notably if it follows suit with The Square and wins this year's Palme d'Or.
As THR reported, Triangle of Sadness centers around a pompous model/influencer couple (Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean) who are left stranded on a desert island following a disastrous luxury cruise. Shipwrecked with a variety of billionaires, along with a cleaning lady, it doesn't take long for tensions to mount on the island. But as these well-to-do billionaires find themselves ill-equipped to handle the task of, well, staying alive, social and financial hierarchies are swiftly turned upside down. The new film also stars Woody Harrelson as the ship's unfortunate captain. As a witty, socially-conscious writer-director who likes to explore the fraught social strains that come with upholstered social conventions and bizarre personal/professional etiquettes, namely when it relates to men and their fragile sense of selves, it's easy to see how Östlund could really excel with such a wacky and high-strung premise. Though, depending on whom you ask, Östlund's newest feature is either another lively, vibrant work or a disappointing step-down, notably compared to his previous two well-acclaimed features.
With reviews rather evenly split between fans and critics, it was reasonable to wonder what would become of Triangle of Sadness' release. But Neon clearly has confidence in this film and its esteemed filmmaker. In the recent past, they've gone out of their way to highlight and companion unique works from famous and/or promising filmmakers, notably with the company distributing last year's Palme d'Or winner, Titane, while also releasing David Cronenberg's Crimes of the Future, which also premiered at this year's Cannes in competition and is slated to come out next month. While some of the movie's most vocal critics are outspoken in their distaste of the movie's broader and loopier premise, especially compared to the director's more squared-in works, maybe that broadness will allow the new comedy to reach a wider audience in the U.S.? Certainly, this is a film that's worth keeping an eye on. It is also worth noting that Triangle of Sadness received an eight-minute standing ovation. So, it certainly has its fans.
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As the festival is winding down through its last few days, we'll soon know what this year's Palme d'Or winner will be. While it's hard to know for sure if Triangle of Sadness will get the prize, particularly with Park Chan-wook's Decision to Leave receiving fantastic reviews, it does have a fair shot — especially with The Square being a surprise winner when it premiered back in 2017. Surely, if Triangle of Sadness ends up taking the coveted award, we should expect to see Östlund's latest movie projected in theaters nationwide in the next few months to come. If not, we can maybe assume that it's slated to premiere in the spring or summer of next year. Of course, this is all speculation. So, we'll hopefully have a better idea of when it is expected to debut sometime soon.
There is no wider release date yet for Triangle of Sadness.